UK billionaires dwindle

Britain now has less billionaire citizens than Asia, for the first time in history.

The latest Forbes Rich List has revealed Asia to have overtaken Europe with its total of billionaires too.

Asia now has 332 billionaires, an increase from the previous year’s total of 234, and Europe has around 300.

Further research by Merrill Lynch Wealth Management has also confirmed that developing markets are in ascension while Europe and the UK are in descent.

The success of the emerging economies, including new economic powerhouse China, has meant that developed economies like that of the UK are being eclipsed by the staggering growth some areas are witnessing.

A number of factors have led to the UK’s faltering amount of billionaires. For starters, the pound is depreciating, the property market is in decline, as is the share market, and unemployment and interest rates are on the rise.

Alan Walker, a co-producer of the Annual World Wealth Report, has warned that these trends are in danger of becoming the norm: “The concentration of high net worth individuals (HNWI) among these areas will continue to erode if the HNWI populations of emerging and developed markets continue to grow faster than those of developed markets.”